Friday, February 19, 2010

Nissan's zero-emission Leaf will challenge the GM Volt in the looming battle of the plug-ins.

By Andrew McCredie, Vancouver Sun February 19, 2010

Last week's big announcement by Nissan that it will deliver a zero emission electric four-door car to U.S. customers by December has created a buzz throughout Metro Vancouver.

That's because when the 2011 Nissan Leaf goes on sale in Canada later next year, the West Coast city will be the first market in the country to get a chance to plug in, turn on and zip along. Even better for those who have patiently been waiting for electric cars to become something more than prototypes this past decade, the Leaf will have competition in the much-heralded GM Volt electric-hybrid.

Unlike the Volt, which has a 1.4-litre gas engine to top up the battery when it's charge depletes, the Leaf is purely electric.

U.S. pricing for the Leaf is expected to be in the $30,000 US range -- GM promises the Volt will be under $40,000 US before rebates -- meaning many Vancouverites with a sub-160 kilometre daily commute might be turning over a new Leaf come 2011. Some 50,000 Americans have signed up to get first crack at the 20,000 or so Leafs expected to start rolling off the Japanese production line later this year.

Read more, Vancouver Sun February 19, 2010
Share/Bookmark

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I congratulate, this brilliant idea is necessary just by the way